Diablo III Closed Beta Testing Goes Live

Blizzard Entertainment has finally begun rolling out the closed beta testing for the much anticipated and long overdue Diablo III massive multiplayer online role-playing game. The last Diablo game came out a little over ten years ago and still has a large player base. This new edition has generated plenty of excitement with a gameplay preview having been released back in early August.

Select Battle.net account holders who opted in for the closed beta get to start testing out the game today and can play all five of the character classes, including Monk, Wizard, Barbarian, Demon Hunter, and Witch Doctor. They can also play all the way through to the Skeleton King encounter and will meet both new and returning characters along the way.

The start of the beta testing signals that the game is getting close to launch. The game has been speculated for a launch later this year and is one of the most anticipated titles for this holiday gaming season. However, Blizzard exec Mike Morhaime has insisted that the company isn't committed to a 2011 release date.

[via VentureBeat]